On Tuesday, CNBC reported the Food and Drug Administration had recently seized thousands of pages of documents from Juul Labs, the San Francisco-based parent company of electronic cigarette Juul. The effort is part of an ongoing crackdown on Juul and other e-cigarettes, which have experienced a meteoric rise in popularity among underage users.

Juul, the rectangular-shaped, battery-powered cigarette, has taken over schools across the nation. According to a survey by the Truth Initiative, nearly one-fifth of middle school and high school students report having seen a Juul used at school. The trend has become so popular, it’s even earned its own verb: “Juuling.” But despite its success, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the trend of using Juul and e-cigarettes an “epidemic” largely affecting kids, and doctors remain worried about its under-researched health effects.

Why has Juul in particular stirred up so much controversy in so short a time? We take a look at what exactly Juul is, how it managed to captivate young audiences and why the FDA is cracking down on its use.

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While traditional cigarette sales slump, electronic cigarettes are on the rise

Contrary to traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Instead, they have “e-liquids” with the stimulant nicotine in them. (Tobacco naturally contains nicotine). Though there are no long-term studies definitively proving that vaping or electronic smoking is “healthier” than traditional smoking, a 2018 study found that vape smoking often resulted in the inhalation of smaller concentrations of toxic substances, suggesting e-cigs may be a less harmful alternative.

While smoking traditional cigarettes has declined among children and young adults over the past few decades, the e-cigarette market, which includes vape pens, has steadily grown, according to a reportby the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rise is driven by factors like marketing tactics aimed at younger audiences, the widespread availability of products and overall price.

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Pax Labs (which launched its spin-off, Juul Labs, in 2017) launched Juul in 2015 — designed to “modernize” smoking with its sleek design, which looks similar to a USB flash drive. Each Juulpod, a term for its replaceable cartridge, contains a “proprietary e-liquid formula,” according to Juul’s website, which has benzoic acid, an acid found in tobacco plants, and nicotine content. Customers can purchase Juulpods in 3% or 5% nicotine content, with each pod intended to last around 200 puffs. The e-liquid in a pod is heated using Juul’s metal coil, providing Juul smokers the ability to inhale its vapor. Since 2015, Juul has dominated the electronic cigaretteindustry, effectively cornering the youth tobacco market.